Unprecedented Wave of Self-Immolations

Updated Jan. 26, 2012 2:02 a.m. ET

fullscreen

A woman in Bangalore, India, on Wednesday held photographs of Tibetan monks who have self immolated in Tibet protesting the Chinese government, during a demonstration to support three fellow Tibetan students in exile Tselo Gyal, Lugoen Thar, and Gyaltsen.
Aijaz Rahi/Associated Press…

Monks walked through the Tibetan Lama Temple in Beijing on Wednesday. China confirmed police shot and killed a "rioter" in a Tibetan-inhabited area, saying they had to use lethal force after a violent mob attacked them.
Mark Ralston/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

Buddhist monks in Dharmasala, India, hold pictures during a gathering Wednesday to remember Tibetans who were allegedly shot by Chinese security forces earlier this week. Deadly clashes between ethnic Tibetans and Chinese security forces have spread to a second area in southwestern China, the government and an overseas activist group said.
Angus McDonald/Associated Press…

Buddhist people attend a candle vigil by the Tibetan Community on Jan. 8 in memory of Tibetans who self immolated in Tibet.
Diptendu Dutta/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

This undated photo released by Students for a Free Tibet shows nun Palden Choetso. On Nov. 6 about 10,000 Tibetans were reportedly gathered around a monastery in western China where Ms. Palden set herself on fire, according to accounts by her fellow nuns.
Students for a Free Tibet/Associated Press…

A Tibetan nun stood at the Ganden Jangchup Choeling nunnery in the town of Daofu, in Sichuan province, on Nov. 13. The nunnery was home to Palden Choetso. In China, 13 Tibetan monks and nuns are known to have self-immolated since March. At least seven are believed to have died.
Carlos Barria/Reuters…

Tibetan nuns from the Ganden Jangchup Choeling nunnery walked along a mountain road near the town of Daofu in November. The nunnery stands hidden from view on an isolated mountain-top in southwestern China, accessible only by a twisting, rocky road.
Carlos Barria/Reuters…

Tibetan Buddhist nuns from the Ganden Jangchup Choeling nunnery sit on a mountain slope near the town of Daofu.
Carlos Barria/Reuters…

Palden Choetso kept a list of monks who had self-immolated before her own death in November. This photo was taken in the hut where she lived at the Gaden Choeling nunnery.
Brian Spegele/The Wall Street Journal…

A memorial at the Nyitso monastery in Daofu commemorates Tsewang Norbu, a 29-year-old monk who fatally self-immolated there in August to protest against increasing repression of Tibetan Buddhists across the region.
Brian Spegele/The Wall Street Journal…